Neighborhood Life, part 4

I bet you thought I had abandoned this Series about life in the Neighborhood, but alas, I have not. Here I have an odd assortment of people and places, the first of which I call the Popcorn Man (featured above).

The two gates I use most often to access my school’s campus happen to be across the street from either our kindergarten or elementary schools. Often as I leave work, students are also leaving school and the Popcorn Man, as I’ve dubbed him, is there to offer warm, freshly popped and salted popcorn for the price of 20 TL (about 1 USD currently). I have not bumped into him in the last month or two, so it’s possible his prices may have increased. But it doesn’t matter–for 1 to 2 dollars it’s nice to walk home munching on this fresh, salty snack. I also like how, for a moment, I feel a bit like a kid leaving school.

I’ll share about another tasty treat and street food–though this one appears on a pop-up basis and is sweet instead of savory–Lokma! My understanding is that families hire a Lokma truck and their staff to serve Lokma in remembrance of a loved one that has passed away. It’s also served/offered for celebrations (from what I have read online in researching for this post). You can learn more by watching this YouTube video that shares about the Turkish Lokma Culture. I find the syrup is too sweet for me and usually do not join the line. I can say it also feels a bit strange, as a foreigner, to enjoy a dessert for a stranger and for a sad reason. I know that’s something I should shed from my thinking–I love living here and need to perhaps look at how to accept and appreciate this unique tradition.

Another neighborhood place of note is the “mukhtar” which translates using Google as “headman.” Allow me to elaborate. In every neighborhood–Göztepe is mine–there is a mukhtar office. This office is manned, by a man or woman as the case may be, on a weekday basis. These individuals receive any important mail–think what we have as certified mail in the US–that was unable to be delivered to the address on record. For example, if an important document was sent from the government to your address but you were not home, then it would be redirected to the mukhtar’s office where you could then coordinate visiting on your time schedule to sign for and collect the mail.

With some additional research on the work of a mukhtar I was able to find this article that explains all the job duties assigned to the individual who serves for a term of five years and is paid by the government.

The last thing I want to share in this post is about how many establishments host or support their own street cat(s). With SO many cats on the streets (there are dogs, as well, but in lower numbers) it’s near impossible to not find oneself feeding a local stray. When I lived in the Lojman (previous four years and where I will be returning to for next school year) we certainly sometimes fed our corner cats from time to time. One of the current residents in the Lojman chooses to feed the growing herd of Lojman cats twice-a-day. In my first two years, I had two strays spayed. But back to the “shop cats” as I call them.

Some of these cats are allowed inside during the hours of operation, others are simply cared for in the area in front of the store or shop. On my walk to school each morning I pass a black and white cat that is supported by the local franchise of Ekleristan. He or she always has food and water and a box is provided to offer protection from the wind and rain and is kept under the overhang.  Some cats are even “adopted” and kept inside at night as is the case at my friend Yonca’s pilates/sports studio, Fitizm (Instagram account link,). She and her trainers have “adopted” two cats, Flex and Point, and have had them spayed, as well as feeding and watering them, and I think they can also stay inside at night. Flex became quite a sensation assisting in or accessorizing for some yoga and pilates workouts. If you follow the studio on Instagram you can see what the cats are up to from time to time.

That wraps things up on this fourth installment in my Neighborhood Series. Not sure if there will be another, or not. Time will reveal all. Until my next post, Take care and Enjoy your moments!